SALEM, W.Va. — Former Salem University women’s water polo coach and assistant men’s water polo coach/current Washington & Jefferson College water polo assistant coach Justin Kassab returns to the Mountain State of West Virginia as the men’s and women’s swimming coach at Salem University.
Kassab takes over a pair of recently rebooted programs which return to competition for the Tigers following a one-year hiatus for the 2023-2024 season. The Tigers will train and compete on campus in Salem with the opportunity to also utilize The Bridge Sports Complex in Bridgeport, W.Va.
A familiar name on campus as he previously coached the Salem women’s water polo program from 2017-to-2022, Kassab led the Tigers to a pair of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship berths while also assisting with both the men’s water polo and swimming programs.
He served as head coach of the Salem women’s team from 2017 through 2022. He started the program from the ground up and led the squad to a 64-53 overall record during his tenure. Salem earned Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship and postseason appearances in both 2021 and 2022 under his watch. For his performance, Kassab was recognized with WWPA and Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division II Coach of the Year honors in both seasons.
He guided the Tigers to 12 All-America, 45 ACWPC Scholar-Athlete and 16 All-Conference nods during his tenure at Salem.
Since leaving Salem, Kassab has worked at NCAA Division I Mount Saint Mary’s University as an assistant swimming coach. On top of his recent swimming experience, he worked in the club swimming world prior to coaching at Salem. He was appointed a volunteer assistant water polo coach at Washington & Jefferson in November.
“I would not have this opportunity if Coach Yost and the staff and swimmers at Mount Saint Mary’s hadn’t given me a chance to get back into NCAA swim coaching and rekindle my love for my first sport. Having worked under a number of great coaches in the 15 years of aquatic coaching, I’m excited that Salem University will be giving me the means to showcase that experience in a head coaching role. I look forward to building a competitive program in a strong region.”
“We are really excited to bring Justin back to Salem in this new role,” noted Salem Director of Athletics Alex Joseph. We know Justin can build a successful program here at Salem, and our swimming programs definitely need the kind of leadership we have known Justin to bring to his teams.”
Kassab earned a bachelors degree in English/Film from Slippery Rock University in 2009. He then added masters degrees in Creative Writing from Wilkes in 2013 and a masters of business administration from Salem in 2018.
